NBA Fans Anxious About Lockout

     The recent first game of the NFL season was one that many believed was not possible.  The contest between the Saints and the Packers didn't just kick off the 2011 NFL season, but it represented an agreement between two feuding sides. 

     NBA fans are hoping its owners and players can mirror the NFL in an attempt to end the lockout and begin the 2011 season on its expected date.  The prospective date for opening night is Nov. 1, with training camps expected to open Oct. 3, but, according to sources, the two sides are far from a deal.

     According to an ESPN.com article, players and owners met last week in New York in an effort to end the lockout, which began on July 1.  Both sides are divided on the salary cap structure and the division of revenues, with owners claiming they lost $300 million last season.  Under the old deal, the players were guaranteed 57 percent of the revenue.  In a restructured proposal, the owners have offered the players a percentage in the 40s, even though the players offered to lower their percentage by more than 3 percent. 

     After meetings went sour on Tuesday, Players' Association president Derek Fisher of the Los Angeles Lakers was quoted by ESPN, as saying, "I think coming out of today, obviously because of the calendar, we can't come out of here feeling as though training camps and the season is going to start on time at this point."

     NBA fans are hoping to avoid a situation like the NFL, where fans saw their league's lockout last 136 days before reaching an agreement.  Although the 2011 NFL season started on time, several weeks of crucial practices and Organized Team Activities (OTA) were missed due to the division between owners and players. 

     With talks resuming this week Las Vegas, basketball fans can only keep their fingers crossed and hope for a "not so stern" approach to labor negotiations.